The Little Soul Reaper
by Sentinel07
Summary: The story always begins with Rukia coming across the Kurosaki household. However, what would have happened if she landed in a different room, specifically a little girl's room? In this story, the protected becomes the protector. Co-written with ThisWillBeFun.
1. Chapter 1: For Want of a Nail

**Hello everyone! This is Sentinel07, bringing to you another fanfic! This time, things are a little different, as this fic is not only my first foray into Bleach fanfiction, but is also a collaboration between myself and ThisWillBeFun.**

**Now, a fact or two:**

_Words in italics represent a characters thoughts._

**If you're here thanks to previous fics written by either of us, welcome back! If not, glad to meet you. We hope this fic turns out to be as successful as our other stories.**

**Now, a disclaimer: We don't own anything of Bleach or anything else referenced in this fic. Those belong to their respective owners.**

**Of course, as this is fanfiction, we might be screwing with official canon big time. But hey, it's our story, so deal with it. Hopefully, you'll all enjoy it. Now then, without further ado, let's roll it!**

**(BEGIN)**

**Chapter 1: For Want of a Nail  
**

**RING!**

The school bell at Karakura Elementary School couldn't have come at a better time for the kids, who cried in relief that the school day was over at last.

"Now class," the teacher droned, "remember to complete tomorrow's homework tonight. That is all."

Hearing the final words from the teacher, the kids filed out, heading out to their respective activities. In particular, we focus on two girls just walking out. They were twin siblings, although you'd hardly know from their appearance and personalities. They were Yuzu and Karin Kurosaki.

"Finally. I felt like I was going to suffocate in there," sighed Karin as she kicked around the soccer ball she kept in her backpack.

"Really? I found the topic to be quite fascinating," smiled Yuzu. "Who knew there was so much to learn from our country's history."

"Yawn," was all Karin had to say to that. "I'd rather make my own history...and I'll start by knocking around some heads on the soccer field."

"I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to aim for their heads, Karin." The darker-haired twin was ready to retort, but was cut off when she saw some guys from their class waving her over from the school field.

"I'll catch you later, Yuzu," Karin yelled as she took a turn to the field.

"All right. See you at home, Karin!" Yuzu yelled back as she continued on her path home.

Now, the Kurosakis weren't exactly ordinary by any stretch of the imagination. What many didn't know was their ability to see spirits. Some might call them the dearly departed, ghosts, ethereal beings, whatever. Whatever one would one would call them, Yuzu could see them, as could her twin, Karin, and their older brother, Ichigo. Their father didn't have the ability, at least not to their knowledge. It wasn't exactly something to brag about unless you wanted people questioning your sanity.

In fact, Yuzu didn't exactly have to wait long for her first visitor of the day.

"Hello Reiko. Nice day, isn't it?" Yuzu smiled as she spoke to her left, the transparent spirit of a girl around Yuzu's age with long brown pigtails and a chain on her chest appearing. Reiko was one of the first spirits Yuzu had ever interacted with once she was sure that all the people she was seeing were real instead of imaginary. The two would occasionally interact with each other when Yuzu passed by and they became somewhat friends. Only problem was that Reiko seemed to have her chain wrapped around a small bottle of flowers that she could never leave. Neither were were exactly sure how that worked, though they both got used to it.

"Hello Yuzu. Nice of you to see me again," Reiko smiled back. "I didn't think you would come by again. Don't you think people would get suspicious?"

"I don't worry too much about that. I'd rather help than do nothing." Yuzu then reached into her backpack, pulling out a fresh flower to replace the older one. "Well, I'd love to stay and chat some more, but I've got to get dinner started for everyone. I can't really keep my dad and brother waiting. You know how they spend their time waiting." Both girls shared a light giggle at that mental image.

After waving goodbye and seeing her friend fade away into the air, Yuzu made her way back home, hoping not to see any patients in the emergency room. It didn't exactly set a family mood to have patients in the infirmary. Thankfully, there were none as she opened the door, making her way inside.

"Dad! I'm home!" she called out. Right as she did though, there was a loud crash, possibly indicating something she didn't want to know about. Her fears were confirmed when her eccentric (to put it lightly) father, Isshin, came out.

"Hello Yuzu!" he cried out in his overly cheerful voice.

"Hey, dad," she smiled back nervously. "Uh...mind if I ask about that crash?"

"What? Oh, it's nothing. Just….nothing. Heh heh heh." Isshin chuckled nervously to himself, which didn't do much convince his daughter.

"Dad," Yuzu frowned. "We live in a clinic. Having loud sounds everywhere can mean almost anything. I'd prefer to know."

"Well, um..." Isshin kept spouting before he eventually cracked. "Okay you win! I accidentally poured some juice in the kitchen and slipped and fell!"

"Wait, you what? Are you hurt? Is anything broken?"

"Only my pride! Oh, how shameful!"

"Oh, good," Yuzu sighed. "I was just about to start on dinner. Any requests?"

"Oh, just about anything will do." As his daughter turned around though, she could tell that Isshin was once again talking to the large and creepy poster of their mom, making her sigh again.

The young girl then proceeded to start boiling water to start her dish. She still wasn't quite sure what to make, but boiling water was the usual way she helped decide what to cook. It calmed her a little and allowed her to clear her thoughts. After looking around the kitchen pantry in search of a proper meal to create with the water running in the background, she managed to come across some noodles.

'_I suppose it's been awhile since our last spaghetti dinner,' _Yuzu thought to herself while picking up the noodles. _'Perhaps now would be as good a time as ever.'_

So, naturally, she stuck the noodles in the boiling water and began making dinner. Things were fairly uneventful for a time. Karin eventually came home, boasting about her game with the other kids. Yuzu didn't listen to much of it. It was kind of the same thing over and over again with Karin.

"Hmmmm, what a delightful smell." Yuzu looked up to see a guy hovering around her. Another spirit obviously, and one that was particularly nosey. Eventually, she got a little tired of him getting in the way of her activities.

"Uh, Mr. Spirit?" Yuzu finally asked after a good two minutes of the ghost hovering around her food.

"Oh, sorry!" the spirit sputtered as he backed away from the pot. "I didn't think you could see me. It's just that...my wife used to always cook spaghetti like this when I was alive. I remember she cooked it on the same night I chose to propose…" The man continued to drone on about his mortal life while Yuzu only half-listened. She did sometimes like the stories the spirits had to tell, but then there were those who told their entire life to her without as much as a suggestion. Sometimes she wished she could be as deniable as her sister. Or at least have some nerve to get them to shorten their stories.

Luckily, dinner was soon ready and the girl prepared everyone's plates before heading out of the kitchen. Honestly, sometimes Yuzu thought her abilities could be more of a curse than a blessing, but she considered that it at least kept life interesting.

"Hey, I'm home," the voice of Ichigo, her big brother, rang from the entrance, which was soon followed by the familiar sound of Isshin running his foot through Ichigo's face.

"YOU LET YOUR GUARD DOWN!"

"For crying out loud, you're pulling this kind of crap already?!"

And with that, a mini-wrestling match raged on, with the twin sisters just settling down in the meantime. Karin didn't pay much attention, as she was more or less used to it. Yuzu was as well, although she was eager for everyone to sit down for dinner.

"Hey, calm down and eat with us!" she tried calling out, but nothing much came of it.

"Oh well, more for me," shrugged Karin.

"Piss off!" Ichigo yelled as he finally managed to get his dad into a choker hold. "Is this the thanks I get for helping a little dead girl find peace?"

"That doesn't give you the excuse of being home late!"

"Oh, screw you!"

Eventually, the uproar died down after a couple more heated exchanges. Karin finished up and decided to go watch TV. Isshin also went off to do something, but not before more whining to the giant Masaki poster despite Karin's advice to throw it away and start being a man. Ichigo also started to go into his room to eat his lunch alone, but was stopped by Yuzu.

"Ichigo?" the timorous girl asked her older brother, who immediately turned around. "Did you say you helped a dead girl?"

"Yeah. What about it?" Ichigo asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I was just wondering what you did is all."

"Oh, it wasn't much. A bunch of thugs were hanging around the area and ended up knocking over her vase of flowers. So, I kind of-"

"Vase of flowers?" Yuzu accidentally interrupted. "Sorry, but do you know where the vase was?"

"Yeah. It actually wasn't too far from you and Karin's school. Why are you so curious?"

"Did the girl have pigtails and a striped shirt?

Ichigo blinked before continuing. "You've seen her?"

"Yeah, you could say that," his little sister trailed off. "Her name is Reiko. We've talked a few times. I actually gave her some new flowers earlier today."

"Huh, so I guess I did you both a favor by beating up those guys," he grinned.

"Yeah, thank y-" She stopped in mid sentence. "Wait, you got into another fight?"

"Hey, I like to see it as both the girl and me getting something to be happy about," he smiled before heading into his room.

Yuzu sighed. She really did love her brother, but she couldn't help but be concerned about him constantly getting into fights, even if most weren't exactly his fault. Fights just seemed to come to him, rather than him seeking them out.

"Thinking about big bro again?" Karin asked from her position on the couch, watching some TV program.

"Yeah."

"Well, don't worry too much. He's a pretty durable guy." Yuzu smiled a bit at her sister's words.

"I guess you're right." As the young girl then began heading towards her room, she noticed that Karin wasn't coming. "You coming to bed?"

"After this show is over," Karin shooed her off. Yuzu decided to just leave it at that as she decided to get ready for bed herself.

_A couple hours later_

Apparently, "after this show is over" meant never for Karin, who never showed up for bedtime. Yuzu had just turned her light off half an hour ago, sighing as she looked over at Karin's empty bed.

"Sometimes, I wonder how I do it." She laughed in spite of herself. A weird father, a somewhat unsociable brother, and a tomboy sister. Not the ensemble for Yuzu to put up with. Then again, they were her family, and she wouldn't have it any other way.

Suddenly, she felt a chill wind wash over herself.

"Brrr, did I leave the window open?" She slowly raised herself off her bed, only to gasp when she looked over to the middle of the room.

Standing in the center of the room was….a young woman. She had short dark hair, and wore an odd style of kimono that Yuzu didn't really recognize. Not only that, but she had a sword at her side.

"Who is that?" she muttered to herself. As she watched, she saw that the woman was talking to herself too.

"Strange. I could have sworn that this was the other room. Oh well, close enough. Now, where is it?" The woman constantly looked back and forth, ignoring Yuzu. "I could have sworn that I felt it around here."

Worried that this strange woman was some kind of bergler (and an oblivious one at that), Yuzu grabbed a tennis racket from who knows how long ago (it didn't catch on), and slowly approached the girl from behind. She made no attempt to move, like Yuzu wasn't even there. However, Yuzu wasn't going to let this girl harm her family in any way.

**SMACK!**

With a mighty smack, the dark-haired girl fell to the ground, causing an impact that didn't seem to wake anyone up, much to Yuzu's surprise. The girly slowly staggered to her feet, an incredulous look on her face.

"What the hell? Did she just hit me?" she seemingly asked herself. Yuzu raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, I hit you. Why wouldn't I hit a stranger in my own bedroom?" Yuzu replied. The girl looked as confused as before.

"But, you shouldn't be able to-Unless you have a really strong sixth sense or something." muttered the girl. Yuzu really didn't get what this girl was talking about.

"Look, I don't know who you are, but I'm not letting you rob my family."

"W-Wait a second!"

**SMACK!**

And Yuzu laid down another smack with her tennis racket, sending the woman to the ground, nearly knocking her out.

"I-I'm….n-not….a burglar..." the woman groaned. Yuzu wasn't inclined to believe her, although she had to admit that if she was telling the truth, the girl wasn't too good at her job. Who would try to rob a house in that get-up anyway?

Yuzu allowed the girl to slowly get-up, grabbing her aching head as she did.

"If you're not a burglar, then who are you?" Yuzu asked in her typical tone, one that exceeded the fact that she wasn't even a teenager yet.

The girl composed herself before looking at Yuzu seriously.

"Well, if you must know…..I am a Soul Reaper," she spoke. Yuzu had zero idea what she was talking about? A reaper? Like the Grim Reaper? Were there smaller reapers? Wait, why was she even considering that?

"Are you messing with me?" Yuzu asked her threateningly. To her surprise, the woman seemed unfazed, almost smiling a bit.

"I see. You want proof?" she smirked. Yuzu didn't like that look she had on her face. She got even more worried when she started chanting.

"Bakudo Number One-"

"Woah woah!" Yuzu started waving her hands in front of the girl. "Don't go doing any of that crazy voodoo stuff in my house! I don't want you to blow it up!"

To Yuzu's surprise again, the girl just snickered a bit.

"Crazy voodoo stuff? Do you even know what that word means?" the girl asked. "And I wasn't going to blow your house up. It was just a simple Kido."

"What's Kido?"

The woman looked a little annoyed, but curious at the same time. "Kido is...It's complicated. See, it's kind of like magic Soul Reapers use for combat."

"Okay, what's a Soul Reaper?"

"We're...kind of like…" The woman looked rather stumped at her explanation. She stood with her thumb under her chin in thought. Then an idea came to her. "I got it! Do you have a sketch pad anywhere?"

Yuzu nodded before taking one out of her desk. She didn't see any reason to question the small woman saying she was a Reaper any further before hearing her out. "Why would you need it?"

"I'll show you," she answered while accepting the pad. "May I use some markers as well?"

"Okay…" Yuzu complied. She guessed it was normal to ask for markers if she wanted to use her drawing pad. She guessed. Either way, she gave the woman some of Karin's markers. She could have given the lady her own markers, but she wanted to be safe.

The strange woman then began to draw determinedly on the pad.

Meanwhile, Karin laid asleep on the couch with the TV left on. She was really out of it tonight, as with every other school day. As she slept, large footsteps began forming just outside, slowly getting louder as they got closer. Even in her rest, Karin still felt some sliver down her spine. With each step taken outside, the feeling grew larger and colder than before. Eventually, she was forced awake.

"What's going on here?" Karin muttered to herself while trying to wipe her eyes open.

"So, basically, Soul Reapers are tasked with watching over souls who have passed on from the World of the Living. Generally, these souls are called "Pluses" and often have something called a "Chain of Fate" coming from their chest, sometimes attached to anything that was significant when they were alive. However, the longer these souls stay around in this world, the more dangerous things can become. With that, we Soul Reapers help them out by guiding them to a place called the Soul Society before they become something called a Hollow. I don't want to say too much, but such a thing would be very bad for both the soul and humans."

For lack of a better word, Yuzu was totally lost. The woman was explaining all of this with a bunch of weird bunny-like doodles (or were they bears?) she had drawn on the pad. The illustrations didn't help at all.

"Any questions?" asked the woman.

"Um….well…..I didn't really catch a lot of that. Your drawing are…...really weird."

"How so?" the woman blinked.

"It's just that...the little bears don't really illustrate…"

"Bears?! Can you not tell rabbits when you see them?"

"Are..do you draw often?"

"All the time. It's kind of a hobby of mine."

"Okay…" Yuzu honestly had no idea to react. First of all, there was a weird woman that came out of her window and started explaining the afterlife. Now, that same woman was making crudely drawn pictures of what was supposed to be bunnies. Things couldn't get much weirder.

"**RAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"**

Both Yuzu and the woman stopped in their tracks and looked out to the door. The raven-haired Reaper readied her sword before running towards the living room, the small girl following behind, unable to keep the pace.

What Yuzu saw next was an image that was engraved in her mind forever. There was a large...thing, so large that it barely managed to fit inside the house without knocking down the ceiling, that looked a bit like a frog with a skull for a face, a creepy one at that, and giant fists. Within its right hand was a small girl with black hair and a look of great pain. Karin.

"Karin!" Yuzu shouted to her twin in vain.

"Watch it!" Rukia warned. "That thing is a Hollow. If you don't run now, you'll probably end up like your sister, if not worse."

"B-but, Karin!"

"Go!"

Rukia was adamant on that fact, no doubt about it. Yet, Yuzu wasn't sure what to do. Her sister was in trouble, but what could she do about it?

"What's all the commotion down here?!"

Yuzu felt her heart stop as she heard Ichigo coming down the stairs. No doubt that he would heard the loud roar from the beast. Yuzu imagined everyone in the neighborhood probably heard that. Still, the thought of her brother seeing...whatever this was in their house wouldn't be good, especially if he saw their sister in its hand. As strong as she knew their brother was, she knew that the sight could only end up with Ichigo charging and end with Ichigo at the mercy of the beast. However, it was already too late as Ichigo had already come down, his eyes squared on the beast.

"W-What the hell is that?! Karin!" Ichigo cried out, seeing his little sister in the beast's hand.

"Ichigo, please get away!" cried Yuzu.

"Another one?" pondered Rukia, seeing the bright-haired boy apparently see the Hollow as well. Unfortunately for both of them, Ichigo followed his gut more than the orders of others.

"Put my sister down, bastard!" yelled Ichigo as he ran towards the Hollow, not quite aware of what he was up against.

"**RAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"**

The beast let yet another roar as it raised its free hand, slamming it straight into Ichigo, who flew back into the staircase. The teenager hit the wall and started bleeding at the back of his head, but he didn't waver. He got back to his feet and started charging blindly again. His next attempt was met with a full fist that smashed him into a wall, breaking it along with the back of his head. Ichigo now laid unconscious on the floor of the living room, a small stain of blood forming on their carpet.

"**ICHIGO!**" Yuzu shouted while looking back and forth at her endangered brother and sister at a rapid pace, her head starting to lighten with each turn. By now, she was about ready pass out.

The Reaper panicked and quickly shouted "Bakudo Number One: Sai!"

Yuzu then felt herself stiffen and fall to the floor against the will of her conscious. She laid with her body wrapped in place with an invisible rope when the woman swiftly kicked her. The girl's immobile body was then propelled up the stairs and into her brother's open door into his room.

"Stay there!" the woman shouted while dodging a punch from the Hollow. "Don't move!" She fully unsheathed her sword and charged towards the beast.

She slashed towards the beast, too which it tried to block her with its free arm. After being forced back, the woman bounced back off the ceiling, slashing it again. Her forward momentum impacted the beast, sending both it and her tumbling outside onto the street with a loud crash. Catching her breath, the Reaper tried to steady herself as the beast got itself up as well. However, looking closely, she could see the girl in its grasp struggling again.

With her resolve in mind, the woman jumped to the top of a lamppost and stared down at the Hollow. The beast started reaching for her with its free hand, but was easily dodged. The Reaper soared through the air before slashing down at its clenched hand. The hand came off with a spurt of blood, freeing the dark-haired girl from its grasp and breaking her fall.

Still, Karin was still incredibly bruised and bleeding at the mouth. By now, she couldn't comprehend anything. All she knew was that there was a big thing that got her, then hurt…

"Ichigo! Yuzu!" she called out, barely audible through the Hollow's own screech of pain. However, her shout did not fall upon deaf ears as they entered those of the one person who understood the reasons of her distress. Yuzu has still laying down on the floor of Ichigo's room, still bound like a mummy. Her eyes instantly shot wide open at the familiar yell.

"Karin!" Yuzu cried out, struggling against the magic that Soul Reaper put on her. She tried over and over to move her arms and legs, but nothing seemed to work.

"Ugh, come on, move!" She cried out as she struggled more and more. Despite losing energy, she just kept going at it, until she heard Karin yell one more time.

"Move!"

With one last cry, Yuzu finally broke her arms and legs free, seeing little golden threads light fade away. Not bothering to think about it, she immediately rushed back downstairs, seeing that no one was there.

"Where are-"

**BOOM!**

She immediately heard a loud ruckus from outside the house, and looked towards the large hole in the house. She ran over to see the Soul Reaper still engaged with the beast, with Karin laying on the ground unconscious. Yuzu again looked towards the beast, trembling a little bit at how frightening it was. However, flashes of what it did to both Karin and Ichigo raced through her head, making her tighten her fists a bit. She may not have been much of a fighter like her siblings, but there was no longer anyone left to fight. She had to fight now. Grabbing a spare piece of wood from the wreckage, Yuzu ran into the battle. The woman instantly saw her come out, a stunned look on her face.

"What the heck? How did she break free?" the Reaper pondered to herself before she realized what Yuzu was doing. "Wait! Stop!"

Not waiting, Yuzu slammed her piece of wood into the leg of the Hollow, causing it to split in two. The impact caused the Hollow to fall to the ground in a heap. Just that little surge of adrenaline had Yuzu panting for breath as she looked over the Hollow.

"Did I get it?" she asked. The Reaper came down behind her, still battle ready.

"No, you just made it angrier," she spoke grimly as the Hollow got back up. "You should've stayed upstairs."

By the time the beast was back on its feet and had its glowing red eyes set on her, Yuzu noticed just how stupid she'd been. This monster- that's what it was, a monster- wasn't going to stop. It was going to just die, it wasn't going to get hurt and leave, and it wasn't going to leave her family alone until it was killed. Not until this giant monster was killed…

"Go ahead and bring your sister inside," the woman instructed. "You'll just end up getting yourself killed at this rate."

Yuzu looked at the strange woman that called herself a Soul Reaper, then at the charging monster, then at her twin sister. She nodded back to woman silently before darting off to grab Karin. However, the Hollow was still rather angry over the girl's actions and stared at Yuzu with a newfound contempt. It started darted towards her faster than it had ever moved before.

The creature cocked its fist and charged it straight at the defenseless small girl holding her sister. Were it not for a quick parry by the Reaper, both girls would have been crushed. However, even the Reaper was not looking so great as her sword barely seemed able to hold the sheer force of the punch. Before long, the woman's power started to reach its limits and the fist managed to break through her shield of strength. The woman then became a large crater in the sidewalk, leaving Yuzu to look in horror.

"M-miss Soul Reaper?" she asked with terror in her eyes.

"Idiot…" the woman groaned back while attempting to get back on her feet. "This Hollow's stronger than I thought it would be. You should've just stayed inside!"

The Hollow looked at Yuzu again and charged another punch. It was once again blocked by a familiar sword and woman, but defeated both in even less time. The woman now seemed to be bleeding at the back along with the blood on her face. The Hollow charged again, it was blocked again, and the Reaper was pummeled again. She accumulated all of her remaining energy into a single blow that managed to cut off the beast's tongue, making it cry out in pain while clunching its bleeding mouth.

"Damn, just what is this thing?!" she cursed under her tongue. Not only did it seem like she was about to be killed during a routine Hollow mission, but a defenseless little girl was going to as well. Then an idea reared into her head. An idea that had many consequences, both good and bad, and would mean the end of many things. The one thing it would preserve, however, was a total of three lives. It was a true ultimatum, but one that couldn't be dwelled on for too long. She had to make the decision right here and now.

"Listen, I hate to ask this, but I think there's a way for both of us to get out of this alive," the Reaper bargained to the little girl while trying to cover her wounds.

"What? How?" Yuzu asked in all eagerness as she saw the monster approaching once more. "Do it already!"

"It's...not that simple," the Reaper groaned. "There is only one way we might be able to not become that Hollow's meal and be able to live, but it requires a great sacrifice on your part."

"I'd do anything to protect my family."

The beaten-up raven haired woman gave a weak smile before returning to her grim stare. "It'll only be temporary, but you will have to become a Soul Reaper yourself." Yuzu gave a quick look of shock. "You must take my zanpaktou and run it through the centre of your very being, so that I may pour my powers into you. If all goes right, you will become a Soul Reaper. I can't guarantee you'll live, but if it doesn't work, it won't matter." She then presented her blade in its entirety to the girl.

"Then give it here," Yuzu responded with a rare look of intensity on her face while accepting the blade. "I sure hope this better works, Ms. Soul Reaper."

"My name is Rukia. Rukia Kuchiki."

"And I'm Yuzu Kurosaki. I hope we can talk again after this. If either of us can still talk, that is." Even while stabbing herself and receiving great power, Yuzu couldn't help but smile.

**BOOM!**

There was then a flash of light where the two once stood, one so bright that even the Hollow had to shield its eyes. The impact of the flash sent a shockwave throughout the area, almost like a tornado just swept through the area. When the light finally cleared up and the Hollow was allowed to see again, all it saw was a single dark silhouette behind a wall of wind.

As the wind finally settled, the Hollow no longer saw anything other than a surprised raven-haired girl with white robes stained in blood. It looked around for the girl that hit it earlier, but found nothing. That is, until it felt its last arm become severed and fell to the floor in another gush of blood. The beast screeched in pain once again while trying to locate the source of its pain, only to find a little brown-haired girl in a black shihakusho with a large, silver blade that was about as large as her entire being. It was the same brat from before…one of the very snacks the Hollow was trying to get the whole time!

The beast screeched, this time in animalistic anger as it charged towards its prey once more, now only confined to the attacks of its feet. It continued to try to squash the girl with each until it lost another limb. Unable to even hold itself up, the Hollow began to fall towards the ground. However, even before it could hit the pavement, he saw the girl once again. She was sporting a scowl that no one had ever truly seen on her face before.

"You won't ever hurt anyone ever again!" she yelled at the monster while directing her sword in the same direction. Just as the Hollow nearly hit the ground, the girl swung and split the mask on its face in half, causing it to screech one final time before dissipating into thin air. Yuzu may have had no idea what just happened, but she knew her job was done. Her family was safe and the Rukia woman was…

She looked over to see that the woman that called herself a Soul Reaper was missing. She looked left and right for her, the adrenaline from the Hollow starting to wane.

"Ms. Soul Reap-OOMPH!"

Just as suddenly, she felt something press hard against her chest, knocking the air out of her as she lost consciousness. She could vaguely make out the silhouette of the Soul Reaper before she fully passed out. Looking over the child, Rukia sighed.

"Of all things, how did this happen?" Rukia wondered to herself. This was going to require a lot of explaining back in Soul Society. Of course, that wasn't the only problem. Rukia turned to the half-destroyed Kurosaki house, putting her hands on her hips.

"Well, might as well get started. I wonder how I'm going to fix this…."

**(END)**

**Phew, well that was a doozy of a first chapter. You can't even begin to imagine how long it took. And this was just the first chapter, so who knows how this will turn out.**

**Anyhoo, ThisWillBeFun and I had fun on this chapter and look forward to continuing. Just as a reminder, updates may be irregular. Inspiration kind of comes and goes, and we're not even sure how long this thing will go.**

**Well, we'll let you all be the judge and tell us what you thought of it, and we both hope to see you all again soon. **

**Oh, and while you're at it, give ThisWillBeFun's own stories a look if you ever get the chance.**

**Until next time, this is Sentinel07, signing out!**


	2. Chapter 2: Refusal to the Call

**Hello again everyone! This is Sentinel07 along with ThisWillBeFun, bringing another chapter of The Little Soul Reaper.**

**So, a modest amount of reviews for the first chapter. Not bad, given that we're probably using a more obscure character. Anyway, we'll see how things go this time around.**

**Now, a fact or two:**

_Words in italics represent a characters thoughts_

**Well, I guess that really is all we've got to say before hand. We'll let you all be the judge here as we continue to get this story rolling.**

**Now, a disclaimer: We don't own anything of Bleach or anything else referenced in this fic. Those belong to their respective owners.**

**Now, hit it!**

**(BEGIN)**

* * *

**Chapter 2: Refusal to the Call**

"NO!" Yuzu shouted while darting off of her pillow like a catapult. She blinked a couple times before looking around and seeing that, for whatever reason, everything seemed calm. This unsettled her to no end considering the images of the last night were permanently ingrained in her skull. She was just left to wonder why everything seemed as normal as ever.

'_Maybe it was all just a dream,'_ she considered. _'The Soul Reaper, the monster, everything. But it felt so real...'_

She just decided to shrug it off and headed downstairs. However, that was the point when Yuzu noticed something out of place on the stairs: blood. There, in plain view, were drops of dried blood exactly where she remembered her brother being pounded on before. A quick look to her right only made her disbelief lessen. Where was once a wall now stood a gaping hole that revealed the entire interior of the entire house to all the entire neighborhood. That left very little for Yuzu to doubt.

"About time you woke up!" Karin shouted from beyond the gigantic gap in their home. Yuzu then rushed down the staircase and headed outside through the now uncovered hole of the house. Her brother and dad were there as well, still looking intently at the damage.

"Oh, thank God you're safe!" her dad cried in joy before leaping to hug his awoken daughter, to Karin's intervention via a good sock to the head.

"Of course she's okay!" Karin yelled at her fallen father. "You knew nobody was hurt! We didn't even get woken up by the accident!"

"Uh, what happened here?" Yuzu asked her older brother, though she was certain she knew the answer. Although, Karin's comment about nobody getting hurt did leave her more than a little curious as to the authenticity of her experiences.

Ichigo sighed. "I'll be honest, I have no idea. The neighbors and everyone else reported a stampede of angry escaped elephants, but I still find it weird that none of us were even woken up by it. Yet, here we are with some type of giant hole through our entire house. It's just...weird."

"I suppose we're used to weird by now," Yuzu chuckled nervously while looking at her twin and dad, the former holding the latter in a hold.

"Yeah, weird meaning I'm gonna to have to work overtime for months to get that fixed!" Isshin complained with what little breath he had left. He then turned to Karin with the same annoyed look. "Think you could let me go? There's actually more to deal with collateral damage other than staring at it."

"Fine…" Karin grumbled while releasing her father. "It's about time we head to school anyway. You about ready, Yuzu?"

"Wait, it's time already?!" her sister shouted while looking at the clock beyond the gap. "No, no, no, no, no…" Her mantra kept going on as she got out into her regular clothes and got ready for school. Even her siblings were surprised at how swiftly she moved at the risk of being late. After she got her backpack, she quickly dashed towards her sister and tugged her by the arm, causing them to both run down the streets at an ungodly speed. "Bye, guys!" she yelled at her brother and dad who watched in amazement.

"Hey son."

"Yes, dad?"

"What do you suppose the world record is for preparation time?"

* * *

Thanks in large part to the younger twin's speed, it didn't take too long before they had arrived. Karin exhaled as Yuzu slowed down, finally allowing herself to rest her strained arm.

"Geez, Yuzu. I felt like my arm was going to come off," Karin groaned.. Yuzu sheepishly smiled and offered an apology.

"Sorry. Guess I kind of lost myself back there."

"Well, whatever," her sister shrugged. It was all she could get out before they were on the receiving end of more yelling.

"Karin! Yuzu!" cried a couple of girls running down the hall. The twins looked to see two of their classmates rushing towards them. One had long black hair flowing down to her plain grey skirt and white shirt, while the other had short brown hair with a more colorful t-shirt and blue jeans. It didn't take long for them to identify them as their classmates Naoko Nabatame and Saori Kunieda.

"Are the rumors really true?" Naoko asked them out of the blue.

Yuzu wasn't quite sure what the girl was referring to, but nonetheless started to feel nervous at the question. She wasn't quite sure what rumors about her could have spread around the school, but the last night made her memories of the rest of the week rather hazy. "W-what rumors?"

"Your house! They say a hoard of elephants escaped and ended up crashing into your house." Naoko said all of this without a hint of irony, as if it didn't sound like the most insane thing in the world.

"Uh…" Yuzu could only stammer.

"See? I told you it was too crazy to be true," Saori scolded to her friend.

"Huh? But didn't they say so on the news?"

"It's called ratings, Naoko. They'll say anything outlandish to get people's attention."

"Oh, believe me, it was true," Karin admitted with a proud grin.

"What?!" both of their classmates shouted at the same time.

"Is this true, Yuzu?" Saori asked.

Yuzu nodded timidly. "Y-yeah...we were asleep, though, kinda…" To be honest, she wasn't sure if what she was saying was a lie or not. She certainly didn't want to lie, but she really couldn't tell if what she remembered even really happened. All she knew was that she remembered was the Hollow thing in great detail and had no memory of any kind of rampaging elephants. Just thinking about the possible explanations of the night left her head in a spin.

"That's amazing! You're so lucky," Naoko replied with glimmering eyes. "I wish something exciting like that would happen to me. All around town, there's always something breaking, exploding, cracking, whatever, and I'm never there!"

"Yeah, shame we're never in mortal danger enough," Saori snarked. "Still, I guess this has been a rather eventful morning, what with the elephants and the new girl and all."

"What new girl?" Karin asked.

"The new student from Kyoto. She just arrived here this morning out of nowhere. What did she say her name was again? Rika? Reiko?"

"I can't really remember," Naoko admitted. "But she's in the classroom talking it out with some of the other girls. She seems rather nice."

A new student in addition to all of this? If Yuzu's head wasn't spinning already, it was now. She wasn't sure if she could take anymore surprises for one day, and it wasn't even 9:00 yet. Still, she went with her sister and classmates towards their homeroom. She could hear chatting as they entered and her jaw nearly dropped when she saw the source of it all.

It was a girl with short black hair with small strands hanging down between her eyes. She had rather light skin and violet eyes that were glistening while she continued giggling with the other girl's. Yuzu stared at the girl's face as it caused replayed the memories of the night before in her head. Even if she looked rather different than their last meeting, there was no use denying her identity.

It was that Soul Reaper, Rukia Kuchiki, no doubt about it. The only problem was that she looked...younger. Even though the girl wasn't sure she wasn't hallucinating, she could swear this was a version of the woman from last night about her own age. In fact, even her clothes looked similar to her own. In fact...

"_What the heck?! Are those MY clothes?!" _Yuzu thanked whatever god was out there that no one could hear her thoughts. Soon enough, the mini-Rukia approached her, smile still on her face.

"Hello, my name's Rukia Kuchiki. It's a pleasure to meet you~!" she greeted in an almost sickeningly sweet voice, even for Yuzu's taste. Rukia offered a hand for Yuzu to shake, which she just stared at for awhile. However, she couldn't help but do a double take when she saw what was on her hand.

There, written in clear English was written "**Don't make a sound until after school or you will never make one again**." That was enough to shut Yuzu up for awhile.

'_This girl is going to be the death of me.' _This ended up being perhaps the most anxious days Yuzu ever felt. Every time, Rukia put her eyes on her, she flinched a bit. To be honest, Yuzu began to wonder if the raven-haired girl was enjoying this kind of torment.

* * *

_Later in the Day_

"What was that about?!" Yuzu frantically asked Rukia after the two found a nice, quiet spot of their own during the lunch period. It took forever for her to convince her sister to leave her alone considering how jumpy she was being all day. Though, she finally decided to allow Yuzu try and make a new friend, no matter how scared she seemed to make her. To be honest, Karin kind of liked the new girl's style. She could tell there was more to her than her nice-girl exterior.

"What do you mean? I was just getting the message across," Rukia replied nonchalantly.

"Message across? Never mind the fact that I almost got killed last night…." Right as she said that, a light went off in her head, making her shiver even more. "Wait, last night really happened?!"

"Yes, it happened. How else did you think I got stuck having to pose at your school?" replied Rukia.

"But what was up with the whole elephant story?!"

"Oh that? Well, that kind of thing happens when I have to do some memory work."

"Memory work?"

"What happened last night can't be public knowledge, I imagine you can agree to that. To avoid this, I changed everyone's memories. However, the effect is random, so I have no effect on what they end up remembering." Rukia looked thoughtful as she said this. "You know, I should find out what these "elephants" are. Are they really big enough to..."

"Never mind!" Yuzu nearly shouted. "Why are you here, why are you small, and **why the hell is any of this happening?!**"

Her hysterics were quickly cut off with a punch to the side of her face. Yuzu sputtered for a second before looking at her attacker, who was now wearing a strange red glove with a skull on it. She then tilted her head down at about forty-five degrees to notice the body laying right in front of her. It was her body. Already shaking in fear, she looked down at the current form she was inhibiting and saw the same black kimono from the night before.

"What is thi-!" Yuzu was slapped across the face before her hysterics could continue. Somehow, the slap did make her feel a bit calmer, but she was still more than a little freaked out over the appearance of her new Soul Reaper form over her own unconscious body.

Rukia sighed. "I suppose this requires some explanation."

"Was that really necessary?" Yuzu asked.

"Anything to calm you down before you attract a crowd."

"What about my body?!"

"Oh yes, that…" She stared at Yuzu's unoccupied body. "Maybe there's a good dumpster somewhere that can hold it temporarily."

"No, you are not putting my body in a dumpster!" This was starting to become the angriest Yuzu had ever been in her entire life, as her face was already starting to turn red. "Why is my body like that anyway?"

"Well, it's obviously an empty husk without your soul."

"**MY SOUL?!**" Now her face was officially red.

"Yes. See this?" Rukia showed off her glove. "This is my Gokon Tekkō. It allows me to take your Soul Reaper form out of your physical body, as you can plainly see."

"Soul Reaper…?" Yuzu stared at her current form in awe. "This...I'm still a...what did you do to me…?"

"Last night, when things looked bad, I tried transferring some of my powers to you. Judging by how much you wasted that Hollow, it seemed to work. However, something unintentional happened."

"Like what?"

"I don't know how, but you ended up absorbing nearly all of my spirit energy. I only intended to give you half, but you took it all."

"Oh...I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Things happen, and the only reason we're all still alive is thanks to you. So, I'd say a "job well done" is in order here." Rukia actually flashed a genuine smile for once, which made Yuzu feel a little better.

"So, what happens now?"

"Well, in normal cases, I'd return to the Soul Society immediately. However, I can't do that in my current condition. I'll have to recuperate for some time before I return. With that in mind, I rented this Gigai from a friend."

"A Gigai?" Following Yuzu's question, Rukia pointed to herself.

"Normally, I can't be seen by anyone unless they have a pretty strong sixth sense, as you already know. For me to interact among normal humans here, I need this Gigai for me to place me soul in. As you can probably tell, it can be made for any situation. You're already aware that I'm usually much bigger than you are."

Yuzu tried to process Rukia's information, leading to another question. "Wait, so why are you a kid now?"

Rukia grinned a bit before responding. "Well, I'm kind of tied to you now, so I have to be able to fit in at your school. Hence, my Gigai was made this way."

"This is so confusing." Yuzu felt like her head was spinning from all the information. Rukia gently tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention.

"It'll all make sense as time goes on. Back to business, as of right now, I can't do my job and fight Hollows right now. Until I regain my powers….." Rukia gave a brief dramatic pause, before dramatically pointing in Yuzu's direction. **"Yuzu Kurosaki, you must take my place as a Soul Reaper and protect Karakura Town!"**

There was an eery pause as the wind swept by the area, not another sound being made. The two girls continued to stare at each other, with Rukia's growing more annoyed with each passing second. After nearly two minutes, Yuzu finally said something.

"No."

Rukia was visibly shocked to receive that particular answer. "No?"

"No."

"Wait, so 'yes'?"

"No, no as in 'no'."

"...pardon?"

Yuzu mumbled something, but it was barely audible to even her own ears.

"I'm sorry, what?" Rukia asked. Her question was only awarded with another mumble. "Could you please speak up?"

This time, she could barely make out the words "I...Soul….er…"

"Please speak up."

"**I SAID I CAN'T BE A SOUL REAPER!"** Yuzu finally shouted, her face flaming red once again. "Last night, whatever happened, I'm still not sure, was the most horrific thing I've ever had to go through! Karin almost died, Ichigo almost died, you almost died...I almost died!" She was starting to become even more exasperated, with tears even starting to stream down with each painful memory. "And that skull monster...the Hollow are whatever you called it, the monster! Dear God, the monster…"

Rukia was starting to look worried and tried to put her hand on the girl's shoulder to comfort her. "Yuzu, please, listen to-"

"NO!" she screamed while swatting Rukia's hand away. For a rare moment in her life, Yuzu's face held nothing but contempt. "Wasn't it your job to get rid of that thing, anyway?! Wasn't it supposed to not be able to...weren't you…" Her enraged face started to drain, almost being washed away in her tears. "Just leave me alone, okay? I can't do what you do. Ever. I can't fight. I'm not you, I'm not my sister, I'm not my brother, I'm not Tatsuki, I'm not...I'm not a Soul Reaper."

Rukia's face softened up a little, but then began harden. "Yes, you are. You have no choice. I hate to be the one to force this role upon you, really I am, but the moment you agreed to drive my blade through your very being, both of our fates were forever altered. We are now part of the same destiny, whatever it leads to. More importantly, we now share the same duty."

Yuzu sniffed a little while trying to wipe away her tears. "I can't do it…"

"Yes, you can. I mean, you did, remember?" She flashed the same smile from before, one that actually made Yuzu feel slightly better. On the robed girl's face started to grow a weak smile that showed the slightest bit of confidence on her part. "So, what do you say now? Will you accept the responsibility that comes with your power and aid those in as much need as your family once did?"

"...maybe," was all Yuzu could answer. "Still, I was hyped up on spirit juice or something back then, so I doubt I could do it again."

The last comment was enough to cause Rukia to crack a wry grin. "Really now? How about we see then?" She then took out a tiny, pink cellphone out of her pockets covered with tiny rabbit accessories. After looking at it for a little while, she closed it and put it back. "Okay then, time for a test run."

"Huh?"

And before Yuzu knew it, Rukia instantly grabbed her arm and stormed off away from the school. Apparently, no one other than Rukia heard her screaming.

Before long, Rukia landed in a nearby park, not noticing Yuzu almost landing face first in the ground.

"What the heck was….."

**ROAR!**

That familiar roar brought Yuzu's attention forward, making her shake again as she saw a kid with a severed chain in his chest on the playground, looking very similar to that girl she talked to at times. However, a ways to the left, was the last thing she really wanted to see: Another masked monster, making its way towards the young boy. This one was very insect-like in nature, with a body as dark as the previous one. It had six sharp legs, all sharp to the point.

"Well, here we are," Rukia stated casually. "Well, I'll just leave this to you."

"Leave this to me?!" Yuzu shouted back. "You can't just expect me to just-!" She looked about ready to finish her sentence until she remembered the young boy that the Hollow was going after. The boy had apparently noticed, yelling as he tried to get away.

"Help!"

Yuzu wanted to move, but her feet felt like lead. Despite that little speck of confidence earlier, here she was, fighting against another monster like before. Slowly, her hand reached over her shoulder for her oversized Zanpakuto. Still, her hands did nothing but shake as she got into a ready position. The Hollow was slowly gaining ground on the helpless Plus.

"Well? He's going to be eaten if you just stand there," Rukia said nonchalantly.

"H-How can you just say that?!"

**ROAR! **

Yuzu flinched as the beast roared again, getting ever closer to the kid. Things seemed to be moving in slow motion to Yuzu, watching the beast get closer and closer. As much as she wanted to, her body wouldn't listen to her will. Despite wanting to move, her mind repeated the same things over and over, _"I can't do this. I can't do this. I can't do this."_

It echoed constantly in Yuzu's mind. Was everything that happened last night all for nothing? Back then, she looked like some heroine jumping out of the shadows to face the impossible odds being placed on her. Now, she was just what she knew she was: a kid. What could she possibly do in this situation? Now, she and the little ghost boy were going to be….

"**IDIOT! **What the hell are you doing?!" Yuzu immediately turned to see Rukia glaring straight at her. "You think you're the only one who's afraid?! Everyone has fears, but sometimes you have to overcome those fears! Are you going to let that kid perish because you were too scared to help?!"

Yuzu just stood there, still shaking a bit as Rukia's words began to sink in.

"Sometimes, you have to take a chance to do what's right. Don't think about it too much, or it'll be something you'll regret for the rest of your life!"

"Lady, help!" the Plus screamed as he tripped over his own chain, plummeting him to the ground. The grinning insect of a Hollow just stood above the boy, eyes glowing in hunger. It raised a single one of its four pinchers to go in for the kill. The boy could do nothing but close his eyes and hold out his arms.

**CLANG!**

The Plus opened his eyes at the sound, only to see a small, brown-haired girl in a black robe with a large sword, holding off the monster that had been chasing him. He may have never been able to read expressions that well when he was alive, but he could tell by her face that the girl was just as scared as him. However, she was still doing something about the strange monster.

Yuzu exerted some more force on her blade, allowing it to go straight through the beast's leg with ease. It of course responded with a loud screech she was way too familiar with, but its screams were interrupted by another subsequent slash at its other leg. The Hollow may not have been too intelligent, but even it knew the next strike would be aimed towards another leg. Barely able to stand up as it was, the beast opened its large maw and shot it towards the little pest.

Somehow, Yuzu saw this coming. As the Hollow tried attacking with nothing but its bare teeth and long tongue, she didn't hesitate to redirect her attack. Just as quickly as she darted towards the leg, she turned around to swing straight at the head. The Hollow didn't even have a head to scream with as its soul was purified.

The boy just watched in awe as he saw the girl stare blankly at the former location of the monster. Once all the fragments of the thing were blown away, her expression looked like she was waking up from a deep slumber. The small Plus had nothing to say but a subdued "Wow…"

Rukia clapped slowly as she walked over to the victorious Reaper with a smug smile. "See? I knew you'd be a natural. How do you feel?"

"Like I shouldn't be alive," Yuzu responded while breathing in heavily.

"Good. That boy shouldn't be either. But, I guess it just goes to show you."

Yuzu responded with a nervous giggle, but that was when something dawned on her. "I did it…"

"Yep. Not even a trace of blood or injury. I'm honestly impressed…" She grinned while putting her hand on the girl's blade. "...Soul Reaper."

"Soul Reaper?" she gasped, still waiting for the euphoria to clear up. "You really think I can do all this?"

"This meaning what you just did? Yes. Although, there is more to being a Soul Reaper other than cutting Hollows down." She directed the attention towards the awestruck Plus. "It's also about lifting the other spirits up."

"Huh? What does that mean?"

"Place the bottom of your zanpakuto's handle on the boy's forehead." Yuzu didn't quite get the the introductions, but she lifted her sword as instructed. She saw the bottom glow a bit as she brought it down, leaving a small mark on the young boy. Before she knew it, the boy lit up into a ball of light, slowly disappearing until nothing was left.

"Okay, what just happened?" Yuzu asked.

"That's another part of a Soul Reaper's job: helping souls pass on. What you just performed was a Konso, which is what sends lost souls to the Soul Society."

"Wow." Yuzu had to admit that it was sort of amazing, if not still a little weird. She was still getting her mind wrapped around the whole concept. As she turned around, she saw Rukia playing on her little phone again.

"Well, nothing else it seems. Looks like a job well done." Rukia smiled at Yuzu, giving a small thumbs up. However, her face suddenly turned complentative. "Although, I feel like we're forgetting something…"

And just like that, a light bulb went off in Yuzu's head.

"**MY BODY!"**

* * *

"You are so lucky that no one found my body during lunch period!" Yuzu exasperatingly told Rukia once they were back at the school. Yuzu's body was laying right where they left it, since Rukia didn't get to use her dumpster idea.

"Oh calm down, nobody noticed so we should be good to go." Rukia then flashed a smile at the new Reaper. "You did good today. First couple of kills is always the hardest, but when push came to shove, you answered the call."

"Heh heh, thanks, Ms. Rukia," Yuzu thanked. "Thanks for putting up with what I did back there."

"No thanks necessary, really," she smiled sweetly. Then, a bulb seemed to go off in her head. "Although... if you want to thank me, perhaps you can help me with something." Yuzu's eyes widened with expectation at those words.

"Sure, just name it. I'll help you with whatever you need."

"Good." And with that, Rukia reached into her back pocket. Yuzu waited with a determined look on her face. She figured it must be something pretty serious for Rukia to ask another favor. She waited with baited breath, just waiting for Rukia to come out with it, until she whipped out a….

A juice carton?

"Can you open this for me? I've been trying all morning," Rukia asked with all seriousness in her voice.

And with that, Yuzu fell to the ground. "That's it?" she groaned.

"Yes. I saw many of the other children drinking from these and I was given this as part of my in-school lunch. It appears the plastic straw is the main key, but I have been unable to locate the proper insertion. Could you help?"

The Soul Reaper gave out a large sigh of disbelief before simply holding out her palm. "Hand it over." Rukia gave the girl her juice box, who inserted the straw with surgical precision. Her new classmate gladly accepted it back with a look of great contentment.

"Thanks," she smiled before starting to drink from the elusive box. "They had nothing like this back at the Academy."

"Wait, they have a school for Soul Reapers?"

"Of course," Rukia answered before resuming her drink. Yuzu was hoping to hear some more, but after a while of awkward silence, she understood that was all she was going to get. It took rather long for her just to finally say "Don't you have a body to go back into?"

"Wait, I can just slip back into it?"

"Of course you can. Did you think it was some complicated process or something?"

"...Yes."

Rukia just snickered as Yuzu got back into her body, feeling almost as red as before.

* * *

**(END)**

**And another chapter is in the books. Hope you all enjoyed this after the little wait. Not much else to say but enjoy and let us know of your opinions in the review section. ThisWillBeFun and I will get to work on Chapter 3 right as we're finished recovering from this chapter. **

**With that said, I'm Sentinel07, and I'm signing out!**


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